How to Care for Outside Areca Palms
Areca palms (Dypsis lutescens)are among the most graceful and alluring palms for tropical gardens. These palms are hardy only to U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zones 10 and 11, and may be severely damaged by temperatures below 30 degees Fahrenheit. Arecas have a clumping habit and widely are used as a tall hedge plant in frost-free areas. These palms grow from 20 to 35 feet tall with a crown spread of between 10 and 20 feet, so give your plant plenty of room. Relatively simple to grow, the rustling sound of areca's feathery fronds make it a welcome addition to any tropical garden. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Shovel
- Palm fertilizer
- Epsom salt
- Manganese fertilizer
- Miticide
- Insecticidal soap
- Systemic insecticide
Instructions
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Plant your areca in full sun or partial shade. The fronds will turn yellow in full sun, but will not be damaged. Do not amend the soil, because arecas are adaptable to most tropical soils.
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Water the areca palm every other day for two weeks after planting, then twice a week for two weeks. Water weekly going forward if there is not an inch of rain. Arecas do not like wet feet, so do not overwater.
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Fertilize your areca palm twice a year, in early spring and early fall, with a quality palm fertilizer. Feed with magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt) and manganese once a year in early spring. Manganese deficiency is most commonly seen as a disease called "frizzle top," in which the new fronds come out distorted.
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Watch for spider mites during dry, hot weather and treat with a miticide labeled for use on palm trees. Watch for mealybugs and treat with insecticidal soap every 10 days. Treat scale insects with systemic insecticide labeled for use on palm trees. Large trees or groups of arecas are best treated by spraying with a systemic insecticide applied monthly, according to label directions, during the growing season.
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Trim new shoots if you want your areca to have only a few trunks. Remove dead fronds as they fall from the plant. Cut trunks with dying tips back to the ground. You cannot save a trunk once the growing tip has died.
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Tips & Warnings
Snakes and spiders like to hide in large clumping arecas, so wear gloves and protective clothing and be careful when cleaning dead fronds from the middle of the clump.
